M&MMCH January 2025 Newsletter

Welcome to 2025 – the Macedon & Mount Macedon Community House Committee of Management are looking forward to a year of consolidation, finishing a few projects and fine tuning the running and promotion of the House!

We achieved some amazing results in 2024 which is evident in the new gardens that surround the House, and the growing number of programs being offered. We could not have achieved this without the support of our sponsors and volunteers – a big thank you to all involved and we look forward to continuing our growth in 2025.

But first a quick recap of 2024!

Projects

We started the year with news that we had the go ahead for the landscaping project and this really set the agenda for the year ahead. The working party contributed many hours to managing the project, working with Luke Basham and his team from Ginkgo Yards (an overview can be found in Projects on our website). When the work was finished, the volunteer gardeners moved in and established the garden beds. The volunteers have been doing an amazing job looking after the garden spaces and learning from each other as they go. A special mention to Emily Rogers and Melina Goddard who are coordinating the volunteers.

During the project we were successful in securing a Tiny Towns grant to assist with our volunteer gardening program. In June, we were fortunate to have both Minister Gayle Tierney and Minister Mary-Anne Thomas at the House for the announcement of the successful recipients of the grant.

A smaller project was also completed – we managed to have the wall in the kitchen moved so we could put the fridge, microwave and pie warmer in the enlarged kitchen space. The project also included getting plans drawn up for Stage 2 that will include new cabinetry, a stove and a dishwasher (we are still working on funding for this!)

Fundraising

During 2024 we ran a sponsorship program to raise funds for our various community projects and programs. We were successful in gaining many sponsors who contributed funds or in-kind support (see our website for the full list of sponsors https://www.mmmcommunityhouse.org/about). Our aim was to raise $50,000 – our final total was just over $54,000! Thank you to all those that generously supported us.

We also ran a number of sausage sizzles (Bunnings, Viewfield Gardens and Mount Macedon Trail Run) – again a big thank you to our volunteers – we couldn’t run these important fundraising events without you. The funds we raise go to keeping the House operational and it’s a great opportunity to get out and about in the community. We also arranged a couple of pre-loved book sales at the House, and I think many people who picked up gardening books would have been very pleased with their bargains.

Our volunteers also helped out at the Bolobek Garden Lovers Fair, alongside others from not-for-profit organisations – a fabulous initiative for supporting the local community. Bolobek Garden Lovers Fair has been a Gold sponsor the House over the last 3 years, so this has been a great opportunity to return the favour in a small way – and I think all the volunteers would agree that it is also a lot of fun.

Programming

Our regular M&MMCH programming ran during the year with Playgroups on Mondays and Wednesdays, Canasta on Wednesday afternoons, Craft on Thursday mornings, our Permies at the House on Fridays and Warhammer every second Sunday. All of these programs are subsided by the House or Sponsors so there are no costs for our community of users. Unfortunately, our choir was unable to continue but hopefully their voices will find new homes with other groups.

The Goldfields Libraries delivered Storytime for our playgroups (one a term) and ran school holiday programs in the breaks. We hope they will continue their involvement at the House - it has been such a welcomed contribution.

You may have noticed that the Macedon Produce Swap has now moved to the front of the House and operates 9:30 am – 10:30 am on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. Hopefully, they will soon have produce from the House gardens to contribute!

The House is also available for other groups to hire and run activities. We have 2 yoga groups who both have dedicated practitioners. The local Landcare and Sustainability groups also make use of the House for their meetings, as did the board of the Bendigo Bank (Gisborne). We are happy to have more people using the House for workshops or various activities that support our community – let us know if you are interested by contacting hello@mmmcommunityhouse.org

House Administration

The Committee of Management had a very busy year with some key members leaving to pursue other commitments. These included one of the founding members and President Samara Hodson, who still is a strong champion for the House. The Committee of Management would also like to recognize the work and contributions of Siobhan Murphy, our secretary, Dean Michael, Karen Clifford, Kate McKernin, and Peter Ryan who left during the year.

Lastly, a very big thank you to Gina Di Paolo who is doing an amazing job as our administration officer, managing emails, bookings, and being the craft convenor (not to mention general support for all initiatives) – so great to have you as part of the team.

James McKenzie, Karen Goltz, Andrew Williams, Jacinta Cloney (CoM Dec 2024)

To hire the House – see https://www.mmmcommunityhouse.org/hire-a-space

To volunteer, become a member or donate – see https://www.mmmcommunityhouse.org/get-involved